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How to feed Mediterranean plants across the UK year

Updated: October 2026

The bottle is already by the watering can, and the lemon and the olive are asking for different months. How to feed Mediterranean plants starts with that split, then with water, then with the rate on your pack. One timetable will overfeed an olive in winter or skip a winter formula a citrus tree still needs. This page is the method. Product choice stays on the [Mediterranean plant food comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/mediterranean-plant-food). RHS guidance and the four amazon.co.uk listings dated 20 and 21 October 2026 were used. There was no feeding trial. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The bottle is already by the watering can, and the lemon and the olive are asking for different months. How to feed Mediterranean plants starts with that split, then with water, then with the rate on your pack.

Our top picks

Substral Substral Naturen citrus and Mediterranean liquid, 500 ml

Best overall

Substral Substral Naturen citrus and Mediterranean liquid, 500 ml
3.9/10about £15.88
View offer
Algoflash Algoflash Alimed Mediterranean plant fertiliser, 750 ml

Best value

Algoflash Algoflash Alimed Mediterranean plant fertiliser, 750 ml
3.3/10about £17.79
View offer
Substral Substral Naturen long-term citrus and Mediterranean, 1.2 kg

Rank 3

Substral Substral Naturen long-term citrus and Mediterranean, 1.2 kg
4.9/10about £19.19
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.One patio, two calendars
  2. 2.Water and drainage before the feed
  3. 3.Use the rate on your pack
  4. 4.When to stop
  5. 5.Questions about a missing dose

One patio, two calendars

Citrus stay on feed all year: a high-nitrogen summer feed from late March to October, then a more balanced winter feed from November to mid-March. A Mediterranean bottle covers both only when its label says so. None of the four listings states that pair. Olives get a balanced liquid about monthly in the growing season, then you stop. BBC Gardeners' World describes a liquid every two weeks. Do not merge those patterns. The citrus winter schedule stays off a dormant olive. Clifton Nurseries says not to feed citrus in winter, which conflicts with the RHS page. Follow the RHS dates. Winter place is on citrus fertiliser for UK pots.

Water and drainage before the feed

Citrus prefer rainwater. In winter, let the surface dry, then water with tepid rainwater and let the excess drain. The pot should never stand in water. Do not feed a waterlogged lemon to green it up. Extra nitrogen makes soft growth. Container plants should not be fertilised after September. Citrus are the exception, and only when the compost is not sodden.
Substral Substral Naturen citrus and Mediterranean liquid, 500 ml

Testsieger

Substral Substral Naturen citrus and Mediterranean liquid, 500 ml
3.9/10about £15.88
View offer

Use the rate on your pack

If your pack prints millilitres per litre or grams, use that figure. The 500 ml Substral liquid prints 1:0, which is not a dilution. The 750 ml Algoflash listing prints no dilution. The 1.2 kg pack claims up to three months, the item-form field says Paste, and it gives no grams. Cultivers states NPK 8-1-5 and gives no gram rate for one pot. Citrus Focus, £8.95 on 21 October 2026, says 10 ml per litre weekly. Vitax is quoted at 5 g in 2.5 litres. Those rates stay on those products.

When to stop

For olives, avoid fertiliser after September so late growth is not soft in the cold. A three-month product applied in August can still be releasing into autumn. Citrus do not take that September stop. From November to mid-March the RHS wants a more balanced winter citrus feed, still with rainwater and a pot that drains. A long-term claim of up to three months is not that winter feed unless the label says so. Pale leaves have other causes. That diagnosis is on yellow leaves on a lemon tree.

Questions about a missing dose

If the amazon.co.uk page has no millilitres per litre, read the label on the product you own. Where that label is blank as well, you do not have a rate. None of the four listings states an iron analysis, so a new sack is not a chelated-iron treatment. If the plant keeps failing after drainage, light and frost cover are right, a nursery that can see it is more useful than another bottle.

Common questions

Do lemons and olives share one feeding calendar?
They share a patio and they do not share a year. Citrus stay on a high-nitrogen summer feed from late March to October and a more balanced winter feed from November to mid-March. Olives get a balanced liquid in the growing season, then they stop. One timetable for both will feed an olive into the cold or drop a lemon's winter feed.
When do I switch a citrus plant to winter feed?
Switch on the RHS boundary: summer feed through October, winter feed from November to mid-March. The winter product is the more balanced one. Your Mediterranean bottle counts as that feed only if its label says so. A claim of up to three months, or a blank dilution, does not state the switch. Keep rainwater, and let excess water leave the pot.
When do I stop feeding an olive in a pot?
Stop at the end of the growing season. The RHS says not to fertilise after September, because soft growth will not harden before cold weather. Through winter, water only when the pot needs it. Start a balanced liquid again when growth returns, at the interval on your pack. The citrus winter dates stay on the citrus.
What if my bottle does not print millilitres per litre?
Use the rate on the physical pack if it has one. A listing that prints 1:0 or nothing cannot supply the mixture. Do not transfer 10 ml per litre from Citrus Focus, 5 g in 2.5 litres from Vitax, or 14 ml from a non-UK shop. If the pack has no figure, buy a product that prints one.
Should I feed a waterlogged lemon?
Empty the saucer and let the compost drain before you add feed. Yellowing and leaf drop in winter are commonly too much water, and rotting roots can start that way. Rainwater, a surface that may dry in winter, and a pot that never stands in water come first. When the compost is merely moist, return to the winter citrus feed if the label provides one.
Is a three-month product the same as a weekly liquid?
A three-month claim is one application with a stated duration. A weekly liquid is a repeated dilute feed. The 1.2 kg listing claims up to three months and prints no grams. It does not become a weekly winter dose because the months overlap winter. Follow the chart on that pack.

Related pages

Mediterranean plant fertiliser buying guide

Mediterranean plant food

Best Mediterranean plant food for a small UK patio

Citrus fertiliser UK: feed a potted lemon all year

Lemon tree yellow leaves: check the pot before feed

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 21 October 2026. A star line is not a count of UK reviews. Organic wording is quoted from the listing, and no UK organic body is named. Oleander toxicity is the Royal Horticultural Society plant note, not a result of feeding.

  1. RHS, How to grow citrus (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS, How to grow olives (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS, Citrus problems (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS, Nutrient deficiencies (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. RHS, How to feed plants (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Manufacturing and marketing fertilisers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Fertilising Products Regulations 2020 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. RHS, Oleander (Nerium oleander) (retrieved 21 October 2026)